CID to probe multi-crore fraud case in Mangaluru
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Mangaluru (PTI): The multi-crore fraud case involving a 43-year-old prime accused, Roshan Saldanha, has been transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Tuesday for further investigation, police said.
Saldanha, a resident of Bajal in Mangaluru, is currently in judicial custody, they said.
He is accused of "duping" investors of several crores of rupees through fraudulent investment schemes that promised high returns, police said, adding that multiple complaints have been lodged against him by victims from various parts of Dakshina Kannada and beyond, alleging that they were misled by Saldanha's schemes and guarantees.
The Mangaluru City Police have filed a formal petition before the jurisdictional court seeking Saldanha's custody, which will be heard on July 23.
A case was registered against Saldanha by the CEN police station based on a complaint from a businessman from Bihar, alleging fraud related to a land transaction amounting to Rs 10 crore, police said.
The case involves the use of forged documents, shell companies, and sophisticated methods of financial manipulation, they said.
According to legal provisions, fraud cases exceeding Rs 10 crore in value are eligible for CID investigation. A formal request was submitted earlier, and the CID has now agreed to take up the probe.
Saldanha, already in judicial custody for other financial frauds, now faces two FIRs in Mangaluru alone, including a recent one from a Hyderabad-based individual alleging a Rs 1 crore fraud, they said.
According to the police, additional complaints have surfaced against him involving victims from Maharashtra, Assam, and Andhra Pradesh--the largest being a Rs 20 crore fraud case from Assam and a Rs 5 crore case from Maharashtra.
A Rs 40 lakh cheating case has also been registered at the Chitradurga Town police station.
Mangaluru City Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy said other existing cases will continue to be probed by the local police. As the investigation progresses, officials have identified multiple bank accounts associated with Saldanha with transactions exceeding Rs 50 crore.
The police have sought custodial interrogation to uncover the full extent of the fraud, track the flow of funds, identify accomplices, and determine whether more victims are involved.
Investigators in the police department believe that Saldanha may have operated through multiple channels to project legitimacy, thereby gaining the confidence of unsuspecting investors. The case has garnered widespread public interest given the high value of the fraud and its ripple effect on individuals and families across the region.
Meanwhile, authorities have appealed to victims across the country to come forward with any additional complaints or information related to the case and report to local police stations or contact Mangaluru Police.
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Priyanka Gandhi visited Zubeen Garg's cremation ground for politics: Himanta
Guwahati (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday accused Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of doing politics over the death of Zubeen Garg, two days after her visit to the singer’s cremation ground.
Speaking to reporters at BJP state headquarters here, Sarma announced that he will not visit Garg's cremation ground 'Zubeen Khetra' till the Assembly elections are over.
"'Zubeen Khetra' should not be used for political purposes. Priyanka Gandhi came to Assam for political purposes and spent just two minutes at the cremation ground," he said.
Stating that no one should visit 'Zubeen Khetra' when they come for political purposes, Sarma said that is why Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Union Home Minister Amit Shah have not been there despite visiting the state multiple times over the last three months.
"Why didn't Priyanka Gandhi visit Swahid Smarak or Dr Bhupen Hazarika’s memorial? The Congress is openly doing politics over Zubeen Garg. They made people emotional and sought votes," he alleged.
On Friday, Vadra visited Garg's cremation ground and said the iconic musician was the "voice of Assam's soul" and he is "above politics".
The Congress leader, who was on a two-day trip to the state to shortlist party candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls, made an unscheduled visit to 'Zubeen Khetra' at Sonapur on the outskirts of Guwahati without any media presence.
The celebrated singer died under mysterious circumstances in Singapore on September 19 last year while swimming in the sea. He had gone to the island nation to attend the 4th edition of the North East India Festival (NEIF).
The CM further claimed that around 12,000 BJP workers donated blood on Zubeen Garg's birthday in November last year.
"Whose value is more -- Priyanka Gandhi who spent two minutes or me who arranged 12,000 blood donors? People are using Garg's name and doing politics," he added.
Sarma pointed out that it was he who had selected the location to make 'Zubeen Khetra' and arranged everything.
"If Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have courage, let them go to Swahid Smarak and confess that their grandmother and father had committed sins during Assam Agitation," he added.
A 'Swahid Smarak', the martyrs memorial, was inaugurated in December last year in the state capital in memory of more than 850 people from the Assamese community who had died during the six-year long Assam Agitation.
"I will not go to Zubeen Khetra till the elections are over. I feel no candidate should visit it if they are contesting elections," Sarma said.
Talking about public demand to set up a fast-track court for speedy trial of Garg's death, the CM claimed that a "conspiracy" is happening in that aspect.
"The judge, in whose court the case is going on at present, has rejected three bail petitions of the accused. Seeing this, two others withdrew their bail applications," he added.
Sarma claimed that a preparation is going on to take away the case from this judge to help the accused.
"This is a design of a particular news channel, a particular newspaper and Congress to change the judge, give bails to the accused before election and blame the BJP," he added.
"It is just politics. There is a conspiracy to give bail and put BJP in awkward position," he said.
Sarma said the Assam Cabinet on February 26 will take a decision whether the case should be handed over to a fast-track court.
"We may transfer it, but we will not be responsible for the consequences of the case then," he added.
Garima Saikia Garg, wife of Zubeen Garg, and Public Prosecutor Ziaul Kamar on February 16 had expressed dissatisfaction over the slow pace of the case being heard by the Kamrup Metropolitan District and Sessions Court.
With several petitions filed before the court on different aspects by the accused, the entire process has been delayed as the trial is yet to begin, Kamar had said.
NEIF chief organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, the singer's manager Siddharth Sharma, his two band members Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amrit Prabha Mahanta, his cousin and Assam Police DSP Sandipan Garg, and his PSOs Nandeswar Bora and Prabin Baishya are in jail as accused in the case.
